Mike, please go back to my original post and pic, as that is exactly what I did
I only needed the Next for one trip. Set up that way, it was a great little canoe and saved my Vagabond from bruises.
Matt, my bad, with two Next owners in the thread I forgot who did what. That is exactly how I would retrofit a Next, although with the foot brace a low-rise flexible back band is awfully comfortable and core-muscle efficient, especially using a double blade with that hull length-to-water line ratio.
Last thoughts on the Next: Might keep it another year, but don't want to wear out the screws switching seats back and forth. Came up with a compromise, leaving the bulky seat sliders in place and mounting a conventional seat at a raised height on top of the rails. Can now switch back and forth under a minute. I can go fishing with the stock Barcolounger seat (maybe I can get a tow out) or take a lengthy paddle with the high conventional seat (and actually complete a paddle stroke without interference). I really do like the little tub, so much more responsive when outfitted this way (but it will never replace my Vagabond!)
I like it. The OT Pack never “replaced” any of our other canoes, but it had its place.
The short OT canoes made wonderful solo sport canoes. I had an OT Pack for nearly 30 years. In the late 80’s it was goofily my tripping canoe. Ah, my long ago light-weight years. Coming from a backpacking perspective, holy cow, I can carry a chair. And some beer. Life is great.
It later iterations that Pack was a small waters day boat, a loaner, a kid canoe and finally an outstanding duckhunting canoe for sneak boating little rivers or dragging across the marsh to hunt pothole ponds over a load of decoys.
For hunting purposes that Pack had a DIY camo cover with raised front cowling, brush “tee bar” on the bow (T-shaped piece of wood drilled with holes to hold pin oak branches or marsh grass) and a gun rest. Mine was OT green; orange or blue maybe not as easily hidden. Every DRN guy who saw it was intrigued, and I shot a lot of ducks out of that little boat.
With some simple angler outfitting the Next would shine as a solo fishing canoe.
I was impressed with this simple, removable fishing platform several friends were using, both casting and trolling.
PA040044 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Plastic cutting board and four bolts/wing nuts. The “trick” as I understand it is to make the top rod holder slot longer than the bottom slot, so the rod is held out angled sideways for trolling, and to angle cut the front edge so the reel foot and stem are held securely.
Couple little holes for tools and accessories, etc. I’d probably glue down a little piece of scrap minicel or exercise flooring as a hook or lure holder.
If I still hunted, or fished, I would have hung onto the Pack; it fit the small, stable, solo sport canoe niche better than any other canoe in the fleet. I loved that little Pack, and got more than my money’s worth out of it. One of my friends uses it as his sport canoe today, 31 years old and still going strong.
Maiden voyage of my OT Next TR today, Ed’s cane bucket seat, 2 inch drops, Wenonah footbrace, 54 pounds. Very similar performance to my old MR Serenade TR (except the Next doesn’t oilcan!) Single purpose boat to float the muddy Genesee River, NY: thick skinned to take a beating, stiff hull to cross gravel bars and be dragged up muddy banks, paddles well with a single blade, able to be transported redneck style (pickup bed, so 13‘ max), paddled with a high seat to enable frequent step outs to clear gravel and sand bars, and relatively cheap. Did pretty well in open water, too.
Hmmm, I don’t think you need my help deciding to keep the niche-filling Next.
